economy
The Guatemalan heist threatening US security
Somewhere in Guatemala City, a labor court has decided that a corporate insider is worth more, by the month, than Cristiano Ronaldo, Stephen Curry, and LeBron James combined. Not a typo. According to his own complaint, a former Tigo Guatemala executive wants his severance calculated on an “average monthly salary” of $4.47 million — a figure that would put him among the five highest-paid athletes on the planet, except he never played a professional sport. He ran corporate affairs for a phone company. Guatemala’s judiciary is treating this as a serious legal question. American policymakers should be treating it as a five-alarm fire.
TL;DR
- A former Tigo Guatemala executive is demanding an "average monthly salary" of $4.47 million for severance, a figure comparable to top athletes.
- The parent company, Millicom International Cellular (Tigo Guatemala), is a significant foreign investment in Guatemala and a Nasdaq-traded entity.
- American shareholders may bear the cost of Guatemalan court decisions related to the company.
- Between 2012 and 2018, a bribery scheme involving Tigo Guatemala led to the company paying over $118 million in a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
- The deferred prosecution agreement, signed in November 2025, resolved the past scandal, which involved securing spectrum licenses and favorable legislation through bribes.